The present invention relates to a far-side airbag apparatus that deploys and inflates an airbag toward the center of a passenger compartment.
A far-side airbag apparatus, which deploys and inflates an airbag toward the center of a passenger compartment, is typically located in a vehicle seat used as the driver's seat or the front passenger seat. The far-side airbag apparatus deploys and inflates an airbag toward the center of the passenger compartment to partition the driver's seat and the front passenger seat from each other, thereby protecting an occupant.
A type of a far-side airbag apparatus is known that includes an airbag and a partition wall inside the airbag. The partition wall has holes for regulating the flow of inflation fluid discharged from an inflator in the airbag (for example, U.S. Patent Application Publication 2014/0103625).
The document discloses a far-side airbag apparatus that has in the partition wall a first hole, which is formed to discharge inflation fluid forward, and a second hole, which discharges inflation fluid upward. The diameter of the first hole is set to be greater than that of the second hole so that the airbag is quickly deployed and inflated upward.
In a far-side airbag apparatus located on the side of the backrest of a vehicle seat, the folded airbag is deployed and inflated from a position close to the torso and an arm of the occupant. This can cause the airbag to interfere with a part of the body of the occupant, which would hamper deployment and inflation of the airbag to the proper position.